Page 84 of Empty Net

“She doesn’t even know we’re here. We could probably walk out of this store, and you wouldn’t hear from her for an hour or more.”

“And what? Miss picking out the perfect engagement party stationery that’s going to inevitably end up in the trash?” I run my finger over the board that’s full of paper examples. “This doesn’t seem very green. Can’t I just send everyone an e-invite?”

Auden snorts loudly,finallyearning my mother’s attention, but all she does is glare at us. Auden, being Auden, waves at my mother. Her glare deepens, and I have to turn my head, covering my lips with my hand so she doesn’t see my smile. My mother turns back to the many paper options, back to ignoring us.

“Seriously, why are we here? It’s not like this relationship is going to last past this party,” Auden complains for at least the fourth time. “Let’s go get burritos.”

My stomach rumbles as if on cue. “Ugh, that sounds so good. I’m starving.”

“Then let’s sneak away. She’ll never know.”

“Are you kidding me? Selene knows all.”

“She doesn’t know you’re faking it with the goalie.”

“Auden!” I hiss at her, and all she does is grin.

Teasing me has become her favorite pastime since she learned about Fox and me. Even when the Serpents were on their bye week and I spent the whole time rolling around the sheets with myveryflexible fake fiancé, she was still texting me daily with jokes, GIFs, and memes. Now, with the team on a six-day road trip, I’ve become her focus with Hutch gone. She’s made me recount everything going on with Fox at least ten times. When we aren’t talking about it, I’ve been talking aboutit with my mother, who is suddenlyveryinvested and wants to be part of every moment, especially planning our engagement party. Personally, I think she just likes the idea of being able to control yet another aspect of my life. If she can’t pick who I’m marrying, you bet your ass she’s going to have a say in everything else.

It somehow makes Fox’s absence even harder because now I don’t even have anyone to relieve all this stress with, and I could really relieve some stress right now. And maybe some of his cheesy jokes. His Southern drawl. A few well-placedsugars. Really, anything to distract me from the fact that we’re planning a party that doesn’t mean a thing other than to signal the end of the weirdest contract negotiation of my life.

“You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?”

I peek over at Auden. “What?”

“Fox. You’re thinking about him.”

I huff out a laugh. “Uh, no. I am not.”

“Yes, you are. Naughty thoughts, too.” She pokes my cheek. “You’re blushing.”

I swat her hand away. “Stop it. No, I’m not.”

“You are. You are, and you like him. You really like him.” She sings this, not a care in the world who hears her. “You wanna fu?—”

“Ms. Sinclair!”

Auden’s back snaps straight, and her eyes widen. Slowly, she turns to look at my mother, who is standing right behind her, a pinched expression on her face. “Hi, Selene.”

My mother narrows her eyes at her. “We’re finished here. Let’s go grab lunch.”

“Wait,” I say. “We’re done?”

“Yes,” my mother calls over her shoulder, already moving past us to the door. “You’re doing cream with pearlescent for the engagement party. There’s a classic silver ribbon for theengagement invites. I would have loved to have knocked out the wedding invitations today too, but since you’re dragging your feet about setting a date, this will have to do.”

Auden snickers, and I shoot her a glare.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Fo—Arthur to make the final decision?” I ask my mother.

She huffs. “It’s like decorating a house. Men don’t want to be part of this kind of thing. Trust me.”

“Actually, Reed was heavily involved in the decision-making for building our house, especially when it came to decorating,” Auden says.

“When are you getting married again, dear?”

She’s baiting Auden, and my best friend is doing her best not to bite.

“We’re not engaged.”

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